Ailee’s company has issued a statement on Ailee’s nude pictures and they confirmed it’s her. That’s not the biggest bombshell though and if what YMC Entertainment says is true, holy shit. Per soompi:

The name “Ailee” has been topping the news headlines from local news agencies today, which reported on one U.S. K-Pop site‘s article on nude photos of a female who purportedly looked like Ailee pre-debut.

…

Most recently, YMC Entertainment released an official statement that confirmed that the female in the photos at issue was indeed Ailee and also offered an explanation. It said, “We’ve confirmed that those photos were taken for camera test after Ailee received a model casting offer for a famous American underwear company while she was living in the U.S.” The agency explained, “Ailee was told that she needed to take the nude photos for an accurate examination of her body, and she agreed to take them under the belief that since it was for a famous underwear company, all information would be secure.”

YMC Entertainment continued that after there was no response from the alleged underwear company in question, Ailee became concerned and reported the issue to the local police. Ailee learned from the police that several other females were scammed in a similar matter, but due to a lack of evidence, there were no arrests. After reporting to the police, Ailee, who was nervous and concerned, consulted with her ex-boyfriend who currently works at the U.S. K-Pop site mentioned previously. During their conversation, her ex-boyfriend asked to see the photos in order to give accurate advice, and Ailee sent them to him.

The agency concluded that it will be taking legal action against the person who leaked the photos. It also asked for support and understanding for Ailee, who is first just another female before she is a singer, and was young and immature when this issue took place.

(Emphasis mine)

First, if true, hope Ailee gets whatever the guy is worth. That goes without saying. The law is an area that I am not all too familiar with, but it does seem based on Ailee’s company’s statement, that the ex in question was trying to profit from the photos which does constitute a threat to Ailee’s career. The level of dirtbag it takes to air out an ex’s private photos which she shared with you in confidence is almost breathtaking. And it appears that he had gone to other media outlets at first, who warned him of the legality of what he was doing:

Ex: I have a few of Ailee’s pictures. I’m wondering if you’re interested.

Dispatch: What kind of pictures?

Ex: She’s completely naked. Not wearing anything, front and back…

Dispatch: What’s the source?

Ex: I received them directly from Ailee.

Dispatch: Ailee gave them to you? Why?

Ex: I was her ex-boyfriend.

Dispatch: Did you receive her nudes through messenger?

Ex: Yes.

Dispatch: And you want to reveal that?

Ex: That’s the goal.

Dispatch: Selling pictures you personally received can get you into trouble. You shouldn’t be offering them to the media.

Ex: Ah, I see. I guess you’re different from the other media outlets. I’ll contact elsewhere.

Dispatch: What’s important here is that what you’re doing is dangerous.

Ex: It’s not illegal.

Dispatch: It is illegal. It’s her private life so she can sue you. And any media outlet who buys those pictures from you is wrong. We suggest you don’t follow through with it.

Ex: I understand.

But second, allkpop has got a huge problem now. A presumable employee using a “news” site to leak photos of an ex for whatever reason (money, traffic, revenge) is probably libel. Allkpop, in their article on Ailee’s nude pictures, said the news came out this way:

No sources, no nothing. Just a “some other anonymous fairy shat out these photos and we’re just here posing questions, k”. So, if allkpop was trying to hide HOW it got said photos and fabricated “an anonymous website and forums” as the source, then there’s a huge problem and conflict of interest there as well. You can’t have your traffic cake and eat it too. How this ends for the website itself remains to be seen, but make no mistake; this is damaging. If allkpop had done a disclaimer that one of their employees was the source of the leak, that’d be one thing. To omit that fact to avoid scrutiny AND still reap the rewards of “breaking” the story for traffic is quite another.

Of course, that presumes that allkpop knew the source of the leak. If the company did not know of the source of the leak and this is all just a HUGE coincidence (which is dubious), then it speaks to the company’s level of “journalistic integrity”, which still hurts the brand. They could have gone for the journalism angle (of you shouldn’t squash a news story because someone will get hurt, a very valid reason in reporting), but the fact an employee is purportedly involved complicates everything. If allkpop were just a celebrity gossip site, it’d be one thing (and they’d still be liable to lawsuits, but still). But as positioning itself as a K-Pop news site, for something like this to fall through the cracks is incredibly damaging if they go for the ignorance route.

And when your best defense as a news site is blind incompetence, you’ve got major problems.